(Closed) How to prevent seperation anxiety in a puppy??

Fiance and I just brought our new furbaby home today! She’s about 3 months old and just the cutest little thing! It’s our first dog and I have one main concern: how to prevent seperation anxiety.

I work from home and rarely leave our apartment on weekdays, so puppy and I will be spending a lot of time together. So far she seems like a big cuddler which on one hand I love and don’t want to “ruin;” however, obviously there will be times when Fiance and I will be leaving her home alone, and I don’t want her to be so used to being attached to my hip that she can’t handle being alone.

Does anyone have any tips for getting a handle on this now?? How to strike a good balance between making her my cuddle buddy and not having her turn into a whiny anxious mess when she’s alone?

@TattedNYBride: You can desensitize her to you “leaving” cues. You can put your shoes and coat on then take them off. Pick up your keys, walk around, and then put them down. Then you can leave the house for a minute and come back, and extend the legnth of time you are gone.

Also don’t make a big thing out of either leaving or coming home. Put her in her ‘space’ when you leave — say goodbye see you later and out the door. when you come home don’t rush right in. Put your coat in the closet, put the groceries down then go in and make her sit and be quiet before you greet her.

Leave her with something to do. Maybe a kong stuffed with peanut butter and doggie treats that’s been frozen. Pretty soon she’ll be thrilled you’re leaving if it means she gets the yummy kong.

I also am at home a lot and we also have a three month old puppy! What I try to do is make sure she has time alone, whether it’s putting her outside while I make dinner, or leave her inside while I go outside. Just try to make sure your dog has time by itself. As a PP said, don’t make a huge deal about leaving. Just say something like “see ya later, pup!” then walk out the door. If you don’t stress, neither will it. Your dog will totally pick up on those vibes.

@TattedNYBride: Are you crate training her? If not, I highly recommend it. I’m in a similar situation to you, and was also worried about my dog developing separation anxiety. He’s a Vizsla, a breed that thrives on being with their humans.

I put my guy in his crate even when I’m home and can give him attention, just so that he would develop a sense of safety while in his crate, which is where we leave him when we do go out. Teach your pup to be away from you when you are home, and she’ll do much better being away from you when you’re not home. Don’t worry about her not being as cuddly, ours is stuck to us whenever he has the chance.

I would second crate training. Our furbaby knows that if it’s crate time, mom and dad are going out. He doesn’t like it, but he will go in when we tell him to. He doesn’t go in the crate for any other reason (he sleeps with us).